


Luciana’s Vow

by TwistedSkata



Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, Horror, Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-03
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-01 05:49:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14513886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwistedSkata/pseuds/TwistedSkata
Summary: Luciana couldn’t bare to part with him. Even in his death, she couldn’t bare to actually let him go. There had to be a cure! What if he could come back to her? She had to keep him safe. She had to hide him until she found a cure. The others just wouldn’t understand.... *Obvious Season 4 Spoilers*





	1. Insanity

**Author's Note:**

> Have you ever seen the ending of Shaun of the Dead? Yeah, that’s what’s happening, if you couldn’t tell by the story summary.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luciana has a mental break down.

They wouldn’t understand. None of them would. They were stuck in a desolate world. Survival of the fittest. Turning a blind eye to redemption. To them, the world had gone to shit and would never go back to the way it was before the dead rose. Not to Luciana. Luciana didn’t believe that. Luciana still held optimism for the world she used to know. Optimism that the apocalypse would end. Life would one day go back to....dare she even say it...normal. 

Maybe there was a cure. There had to be a cure. Somewhere out there in the great wide world, there had to be a cure. A cure that would save the turned. Save the dead. It was down right insanity. The thought. What if he could come back? Not the soulless Nick, but the old Nick.

She couldn’t let them shoot Nick in the head to keep him from turning. Luciana couldn’t bare to part with him. Even in his death, she couldn’t bare to actually let him go. She said they didn’t need the gun and that she would stab him in the head, herself. She just needed to be alone. After the others walked away, Luciana stabbed the grass near Nick’s head. Then she dragged her boyfriend’s body into the shed and tied him to a chair. She was acting crazy. She knew what she was doing was absolute bat shit insanity but she couldn’t let him go! She would find a cure. 

Luciana ripped his shirt away where the bullet hole was, and extracted the shell. Then she stitched the wound together with a copper wire she found nearby. If he was going to be cured, he needed a healthy body to come back to. Luciana’s eyes blurred with tears as she tried to figure out a way to perform a blood transfusion. She knew she was acting irrationally, but maybe it wasn’t too late. The dead are coming back to life for a reason. If anyone deserves a cure, it’s Nick. He bleed to death, if he’s going to come back he needs more blood. 

Luciana knew her type O blood made her a universal donor but she wasn’t a nurse. With no medical background she had no idea how to perform a blood transfusion. She was still pacing back and forth in front of a lifeless Nick, when he suddenly lifted his head. For a moment, Luciana was overjoyed! He was alive! Thank god he was still alive! She was about to throw herself at his feet and thank the heavens, but stopped when she saw his cloudy blue eyes. He had turned. He was one of them now.... the dead.

Luciana’s heart ached. For a split second she regretted stopping the others from shooting him in the head. Maybe it would have been easier if she had of just let him go. “Oh..Nick...” Luciana sighed heavily with tears sliding down her face. He looked at her, his cloudy eyes growing wider at the sight of her. Then he growled. A low growl in his throat that turned into a snarl when he opened his mouth. He began to thrash about in the chair, trying to break free. His frenzied snarls becoming louder and more forceful! Luciana wasn’t worried about the ropes breaking. She knew how to tie knots. She just couldn’t stand the sight of Nick tied down like a rabid animal. “I’m sorry, Nick! I’m so sorry, but I can’t let you go!” She cried.


	2. Security

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luciana finds Nick a better hiding place.

Alicia wanted to burry Nick. Of course, Luciana couldn’t let that happen. They couldn’t burry Nick’s real body. She was waiting for the cure.

So instead she took the dead body of the vulture Nick had killed a few minutes before his own death. The one Alicia had put down for good after his reanimation and covered it with a tarp, letting the others load it into the truck believing it was Nick’s body. 

Afterward, Luciana realized she needed a place to hide the real Nick until she could find a cure. Leaving him in the shed temporarily, she joined the others as they got back in their vehicle and continued on to retrieve their hidden stash of supplies and burry “Nick” in his final resting place beneath a tree.

It filled Luciana with guilt as she watched Alicia and the others gather around the tarped body in tears, saying their final goodbyes to “Nick”. Night had fallen and the others decided they needed to find a safe place to camp for the night. Luciana wanted to keep it close to the shed so after less than a two hours drive, she insisted the group check out a local mall they were passing. “A mall? Have you lost your mind?! That place is going to be crawling with the dead!” Strand argued. “Well we can clear it out! Think about it!” Luciana snapped. Alicia agreed with Luciana to her surprise. “It will have a lot of stores we can get supplies from.” She added. 

The mall had been closed at the start of the outbreak. It looked like someone had tried to break in through the main glass doors, but the glass seemed to be plexi and despite a few dents, hadn’t broken. There was a gate down, blocking a delivery door, but they easily broke it open, using the swat truck to back into it. 

The mall seemed to be frozen in time. It hadn’t been looted at all. It was almost as if it was too good to be true. It was three stories, including the basement security room area. The first floor contained various clothing and jewelry stores, a video game store, a children’s toy store, a book store and a Chase bank. All surrounding a centrally located fountain. The waterfall was turned off, but the water that remained in the fountain was full of coins. The second floor was a food court. 

While Strand went to the security room to work on getting the electricity turned on, the rest of the group rushed to check out the food court. Except for Luciana. She was busy checking out the bank. It was a Chase. Relatively small. As soon as she walked in, all she saw were a few chairs to her left, a coffee machine to her right, and directly in front of her was the bank counter. That’s not what she cared about though. She walked back around the counter and broke the knob on the door, letting herself into the back employee area of the bank. 

There were three doors back here. A manager’s office to her left, a bathroom on the right and straight ahead was the door she was looking for. The golden vault door. She broke into the manager’s office and found the key to the vault. 

It was perfect. The vault. When she opened the circular door, she was greeted by a secure metal gate. Beyond the gate, she could see the carpeted inner vault. The metal walls were made of hundreds of tiny secure safes. It wasn’t money Luciana was after though. She needed this vault to house something more important than meaningless currency. She was going to make this Nick’s new home.


	3. Heredity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luciana confesses a secret to Alicia.

Luciana had went around the mall gathering a few items needed for Nick’s transition. It would seem silly to anyone else that she got him a change of clothes. But not to her. He couldn’t wear those filthy clothes he died in. That would be....inhumane. Her face burned with shame as she browsed the men’s department of a Nordstrom. She was terrified she would be caught by one of the others. She didn’t even have a good excuse ready for what she was doing. She probably would have just turned and ran, making herself look even more crazy. No one could know about her plan. 

After much internal debate, she settled on a dark colored Daniel Buchler lounge set. She had never heard of this fashion designer, but his clothes were made with a combination of cotton and silk that looked like it would be easy to get Nick into. The price tag on the pants made her chuckle. One hundred and fifty eight dollars for a pair of pants? Who would have even brought these?! She grabbed the matching plain colored shirt as well. A midnight blue labeld for another one hundred and fifteen dollars. 

After putting the clothes in her backpack, she left the Nordstrom’s and ran into Alicia who seemed too happy for someone who’s brother had just died. “I was just looking for you! The Macy’s has a furniture section! There’s beds! I saved you one, next to mine!” 

Luciana had no interest in sleeping in Macy’s. She planned on sleeping in the manager’s office of the bank. There were cameras in there where she could keep an eye on the inside of the vault, and Nick.

Her face must have gave away her disgust because Alicia paused. “What?” She asked, “Don’t you want to stay here? This place is great!” She added. Luciana sighed, “It’s perfect. I just..I was planning on sleeping somewhere else.” She admitted. “Where?” Alicia asked.  
“The bank.” Luciana answered honestly. Alicia’s face scrunched up. “Why would you want to sleep in there, when there are good beds upstairs?” She questioned. 

Luciana had to think fast, “I just umm..there’s locks. I just feel more...secure...than you know...sleeping in the open.” She looked away, uncomfortable at her pathetic excuse. 

“But you’ll be separated from the group. Safety in numbers, remember?” Alicia said. 

“Yeah I know but I just really need to be alone right now ok?!” Luciana snapped, her voice breaking. She felt a tear roll down her cheek that she quickly wiped away with the back of her hand. 

Alicia was quiet for a moment before she placed her hand on Luciana’s arm gently. “I know you miss Nick. I miss him too...but he’s gone Luciana. He’s not coming back. He wouldn’t want you to beat yourself up over this. He would want you - US- he would want US to move on.” She said. Luciana shook Alicia’s hand off. “You don’t know what he would want!” Luciana spit. “Excuse me?! He was MY brother!” Alicia snapped back. “Yeah? Well he’s the father of MY child!” Luciana retorted.

Alicia’s eyes grew wide. “Y-Y-You’re pregnant?!” She gasped. Luciana blushed deeply. She didn’t mean for it to slip out like that. “....He knew....He knew.” Was all Luciana could say. It was true. He did know. She was six weeks pregnant. She took a pregnancy test she got at a drugstore, last month, after missing her period.

When it came back positive, she spent 3 days in a horrible state of depression before she finally told Nick. She wasn’t necessarily angry with the pregnancy. She was just upset that she and Nick would have to raise their child in this apocalyptic world. 

He seemed to feel the same way. After seeing the worry on her face, though, he reassured her that it would be ok. They would be good parents. He made her promise to keep herself safe for the sake of the baby. She made him do the same. She kept her promise. He broke his. 

 

The lights in the mall suddenly flickered on. Both girls looked up as the center fountain sprang to life. Water spraying up into the air. They heard cheers in the distance, but the young women were in no mood to celebrate Strand’s achievement. 

Luciana looked at Alicia and found tears welling in the girl’s eyes. She looked down at Luciana’s stomach which wasn’t showing any signs of her pregnancy yet. “I have to go.” Luciana announced abruptly, turning to leave. Alicia didn’t follow after her. 

 

Luciana was greatful. It was better this way. Now that, that was out of the way, it was time for the hard part. She had to go get Nick and sneak him back in the mall, to the bank. To do that she needed to borrow a car. There was no way she was going to get the swat truck without raising suspicion. She knew how to hot wire a car though, so she made her way outside of the mall and to the parking garage. There was a Mall security van that immediately caught her attention. She had originally planned on untying Nick from the chair, and bounding him in the trunk of a car. But with a van, she could easily just push the entire chair into the back. So she made a new plan. Take the van, push the chair with Nick into the back, and somehow sneak Nick back into the mall. 

 

It seemed like the perfect plan. If only it would have worked out that way...


	4. Crudity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luciana goes back to the shed to get Nick.

Luciana needed to get close to Nick. Close enough to get his chair and move him into the van. Of course, there was no way she could get that close without Nick trying to attack her. She knew it wasn’t personal. He couldn’t help the animalistic instinct that had taken over his body. The headlights of her van found a small group of dead stumbling around in the road, on her way back to the shed. She ran them over, then got out and put an end to their miserable afterlives with her knife. Afterward, she used the same knife to gut one open and smear the body on her body like paint. Her camouflage. This would let her get close to Nick. She drove up to the shed door and parked with the trunk of the van facing the door. She left the van running, and opened the back doors, turning on her flashlight. It took her eyes a minute to adjust to the fact that Nick was no longer sitting in the chair inside the shed. The chair was broken and laying on its side, with the rope loosened. “Shit!” Luciana cursed. How did he break out? When was this? How long ago? Was he still in the shed? She glanced around. The shed wasn’t that big. “Nick?” she called tentatively. “Hello?” Came a deep voiced response. Luciana turned around and found herself staring at an older Asian man in the shed doorway. “Who are you? Where’s Nick?!” Luciana demanded. “Who? I haven’t seen anyone out here but the dead, and now you. Is this your van?” He asked, shielding his eyes from the harsh flashlight. 

“He was sitting right here in this chair!” Luciana growled, pointing toward it with the light. The man stared down at the chair with the ropes around it. He looked confused. “I have to find him!” Luciana announced, pushing past the man and looking across the field. “I’ve been here for an hour looking for food. I haven’t seen anyone else but you.” He said. Luciana gave him a dirty look. “You said you saw some dead here?” She asked. “Yeah a few stragglers earlier.” He replied. “What about a man? Orange and blue striped shirt, brown jacket and blue jeans? Long brown hair.” She asked. The man looked confused. “I uhh…I don’t really pay attention to what the dead wear.” He confessed. “DID YOU KILL HIM?!” Luciana demanded, raising her knife. The guy put his hands up. “I don’t know!” He confessed. “Show me! Show me where you killed the dead you found! I need to see them!” She growled. “Ok, ok relax! It’s right over there on the hill!” The man said using his gun to point toward the hills beyond the shed. 

Luciana made him lead her there. Nick wasn’t among the pile. It didn’t make Luciana feel any better. Where was Nick? He couldn’t have gotten far! Luciana stood on the hill and looked in the vast distance. There were more dead down by an old gas station about half a mile east of the sheds. At least a dozen. She tried squinting to make out their features but couldn’t in the dark. She had to go over there to see if Nick was with them. Her and the Asian man made their way back toward Luciana’s van. “Can I get a ride?” He asked. Luciana really didn’t want to be bothered with him. She was on a mission. She was still trying to think of a way to blow him off, when snarling came from behind her. She turned around and saw a staggering dead woman reaching past her toward the Asian man. Luciana reached for her knife, in her pocket, but the Asian man, with his gun, was faster and quickly put a bullet in the dead woman's head. 

As soon as she hit the ground, another took her place. Then another turned around the shed corner. Two more staggered from out of the shed, and yet another appeared in the distance. “We’re surrounded!” The Asian man gasped. Sure enough, even more dead were coming from the opposite side. Even though Luciana knew the blood camouflage on her would keep her safe, she still knew they had to get out of there! The van engine was probably what was drawing them over. Luciana ran around to the driver’s side of the door, stabbing two more dead in the process. The Asian man tripped on his way to the passenger side door and cried out for help as the dead closed in on him faster than his bullets could fire into the night. 

Luciana thought about just getting in the van and driving away, but she wasn’t that heartless. She ran around to the other side of the van, stabbing three more dead, before reaching down to help the man to his feet. He fired his gun twice over her shoulder, killing two more dead. He got the passenger side door open, and the side mirror showed the reflection of another dead one staggering up behind them. Only this dead one made Luciana’s heart skip a beat. Nick! It was Nick! He came back! He must have wandered off with the other dead but was drawn back by the sound of the van engine! Luciana spun around just as the Asian Man raised his gun to point at Nick’s head. “NOOO!” Luciana cried, knocking the gun out of the man’s hands. “Are you fucking crazy?! He’s going to EAT us!” The man cried, reaching down to try to pick his gun up from off the ground.

Luciana kicked the gun further away, under the van, and the man fell onto his hands and knees as he lost his balance. He never made it back up. Nick pounced on him, sinking his teeth into the back of the man’s neck. Tearing away the muscle, ligaments and tissue of the man’s flesh in a spray of blood and fat. The man howled in agony as Nick feasted upon his neck, moving on to take a second bite, and then a third before being joined by the two remaining dead from the field. They all dropped to their knees, gathering around the Asian man, and ignoring Luciana’s presence as they enjoyed their meal. It was sickening. The slurping of the blood. The crunching of the bones, the grinding of human flesh between teeth. The gulping swallows and raspy growls of the dead. Luciana turned away from the site of the blood pouring from Nick’s mouth and the Asian man’s bloody tissues now hanging from Nick’s lips as he slurped it up. She had to put a hand over her mouth to keep herself from vomiting. 

The sounds still reached her ears and Luciana had to walk away as she dry heaved. She went into the shed, shaking. She couldn’t believe what she had just witnessed. Nick…like a rabid animal…eating that poor man! After she regained her composure, she grabbed the rope from the broken chair and went back out toward the van. Nick and the other two dead were too busy consuming the last of the Asian man to notice her. Nick was chewing on the Man’s knee. Tearing away the flesh with his teeth to expose the shiny bone of the man’s knee cap. Luciana snuck up behind him and while he was bent over on his knees, munching away at the body on the ground, she tied his ankles together with the rope. He didn’t even stir. Not until she tried to reach for his hand to bring it back behind him, for a hog tie. 

He turned his head sharply to snarl at her with the blood all over his mouth, dribbling down his jaw to splash onto his shirt. He was like a lion in the wild who had stumbled upon a meal and wasn’t about to give it up to another predator. Luciana froze, until he turned his head back to finish his meal. The actions caught the attention of the other two dead who were suddenly staring up at Luciana now. One climbed to his feet and began to growl at a her. A low growl in his throat. Shit! Her camouflage must be wearing off! Luciana stepped around Nick and sunk the blade of her knife into the curious one’s head. Then she did the same to the other dead, leaving only Nick to be spared. She painted herself with more of the blood from the latest victims and finally turned her attention back to Nick.

He seemed pleased that the other two dead had abandoned the meal he was feasting on. Luciana took off her shirt and whispered a soft apology to Nick as she stepped up behind him and pulled the shirt over his head, blocking his view as if the shirt were a pillow case. Nick howled in a frenzied fury as he climbed to his feet and rammed himself into the side of the van, trying to get the shirt off of his head to attack whoever dared to blind him. Unfortunately for him, the ropes around his ankles held tight and brought him back down to his knees once more. Luciana managed to pin him down, while she grabbed his hands and brought them behind his back, successfully hog tying him. She kept apologizing the entire time she tied her boyfriend up. “I’m sorry Nick! I’m so sorry! It’s for your own good! It’s ok! Just calm down! I’m going to help you!” She cried.

It was difficult and dangerous work, but she managed to pull it off. After Nick was tied up, it was easy to slide him into the back of the van and close the door. Before she left the field, she grabbed the Asian man’s discarded gun. She thought the worst of it was over, but she was wrong. The ride back to the mall with Nick thrashing around tied up on the floor of the van was heart breaking. Each time they hit a bump in the road, Nick would let out a vicious growl. And each time Nick growled, Luciana’s heart broke just a little bit more.


	5. Captivity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick gets transitioned to his new home.

She had to wait until everyone fell asleep before she could sneak Nick into the mall. That way everyone would be in the Macy’s. Luciana didn’t mind. That gave her time to clean Nick up. She couldn’t possibly risk dragging him inside to drip blood everywhere. She took his shoes off first, discarding the dingy things. He wouldn’t need shoes anymore. Or socks for that matter, since the vault had carpet. 

She had to use her knife to cut his soiled clothes off because she decided to keep him hog tied in the back of the van. It allowed her to take her time in washing the blood from his body. She saved his face for last, keeping the shirt over it. 

Dressing him was tricky. It reminded Luciana of dressing her younger cousins before the apocalypse. They were toddlers. Always fighting to get away and never wanting to stay still long enough to let her put their pajamas on. That’s what Nick was like. Only he wasn’t fighting to run off and play with his toys. His fight was for something far more sinister. 

She decided to do the easy part first. His pants. All she had to do was time herself. As quick as possible. She untied the rope from his ankles, and his reaction time, to realizing his legs were free, was too slow for him to put up any real resistance. Luciana had already pulled his legs through the Nordstrom pants. 

She retied his ankles together after she pulled his new pants up. Then it was time for the hard part. His shirt. If she undid the ropes from his hands, she would have to somehow get him to sit up long enough to get the new shirt over his head. Then she would have to struggle to get his hands through the arm holes without giving him the chance to claw her eyes out. 

“Nick....I need you to help me ok?” Luciana said, as if Nick could actually understand her, in his state of mind. He growled at the sound of her voice. She could hear his teeth grinding together. She rolled him on to his side and took the shirt off his face. 

His hair was dirty and matted. His lips curled up in a snarl as his clouded eyes darted around the back of the van looking for the source of the voice. Luciana’s blood camouflage was starting to wear off again. Nick’s nose was flaring rapidly, sniffing the air. He held her gaze for a moment and Luciana wondered if he saw her. Not as a meal, but as HER. Luciana. Did he recognize her? His own girlfriend? The woman carrying his child?

He growled at her. She didn’t have much time left. She cleaned his face off with a bottled water. Letting the blood wash off to stain the van floor. He didn’t like that. He howled violently, his head jerking back and forth to get away from the water. “Shhh...it’s ok, Nick! It’s ok. It’s just water, love!” Luciana whispered. 

The sound of her voice seemed to infuriate Nick. He began to thrash about against his ropes and he let out a sound she had never heard one of the dead make before. A roar. He opened his mouth and tried to sink his teeth into Luciana’s wrist. She quickly pulled her hand away. 

Luciana’s heart was pounding as she held her hand close to her heart. She stared down at Nick who continued to wither about, growling at her. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea....

No.

Nonsense!

Of course this was the right thing to do! 

He didn’t mean to snap at her...he doesn’t WANT to hurt her...he’s just....not himself right now. 

Luciana silently forgave Nick’s outburst and poured the rest of the water into his hair to get the dirt out. She dried his face with her old shirt before tossing it aside. Then she rolled him back on his stomach. She sat on the back of Nick’s legs and stared down at his back. She would have to put the shirt on him backwards. Lift his head by his hair to get it through the hole, then once his head pops in she would have no choice but to untie his hands and attempt to get his arms through the holes. 

She was anticipating quite the struggle from Nick. She wished she had tape to block his mouth. Maybe she could find some later in the mall. In the mean time, she would have to stuff something in his mouth to keep him from biting her. She used the sleeve of his old jacket. She just held it in front of his mouth. He didn’t react, so she whispered his name. That did the trick. He growled at the sound of her voice, opening his mouth wide enough for her to shove the sleeve forward before snatching her hand back before his teeth sunk down around the fabric. 

Not wanting to waste any more time, Luciana used the temporary distraction to untie the rope, freeing Nick’s hands. Forgetting her original plan and just wanting to get his arms into the shirt as fast as humanely possible, Luciana shoved his right arm inside the shirt sleeve and then his left, before working the shirt over his shoulders. She had never put a shirt on someone backwards, let alone arms first. 

She pulled it down over his head, accidentally knocking the jacket sleeve out of Nick’s mouth. He made a raspy choking sound but the deed was done. Only after Luciana re tied his hands behind his back did she notice she put the shirt on inside out. 

She almost cried. However, she quickly realized how ridiculous she was being. It’s just a shirt. At least it was on! In fact, if it weren’t for the tag sticking out, you couldn’t even really notice it was inside out. 

Luciana ripped the tag off. Then she made sure the ropes were tied securely around Nick before she laid his old Jacket over his head. It was just better if he couldn’t see his surroundings. She left him there in the back of the van, as she returned to the mall and cleaned herself off in a bathroom. Then she took it upon herself to browse for a new outfit for herself. She found a gorgeous pink silk sundress that she adored but she didn’t think it would be a good idea to wear when handling Nick later that night. 

She had to dress practical. Black denim and a dark Aeropostale hoody for now. She joined the others for dinner in the food court. Someone had made hamburgers from frozen patties they found in an old McDonalds in the food court. Luciana hadn’t had food like this since the apocalypse started. She would have been ecstatic, had her mind not been so heavy with the events of the day. Alicia looked like she wanted to say something to her, but she didn’t. 

After dinner, however, right before the others headed off to the Macy’s for the night Alicia approached her again. “Are you sure you don’t want to sleep in a nice warm bed? I can’t imagine you sleeping on a cold floor.” She said. “I’m not. I have a mattress.” Luciana reassured her. It was true. 

After she had cleaned herself up, she grabbed one of the mattresses from the furniture section of Macy’s and made the manager’s office into a little bedroom. She even picked out floral Egyptian cotton sheets from the store shelf. She had her bed, a few books she had picked up from the book store, and the security cameras pulled up on the manager’s computer. It had a multiple view angle of the inside of the vault. It was all she really needed. A way to keep an eye on Nick. 

 

She didn’t really know what to do for the vault to make it a “home” for Nick. It wasn’t like he needed a bed or entertainment. What she did do though, was drill a metal chain she found downstairs in the security room, to the far left corner of the vault. She attached a metal handcuff shackle to it. She planned on putting it around Nick’s ankle. 

The chain was long enough for him to roam around the vault but not long enough for him to reach the vault gate.....just in case. The room looked cold. If she was going to be staring at the inside of the vault via the camera all day, she decided she at least wanted something ascetically pleasing....warm even. 

She placed a single teddy bear inside. In the middle of the vault. It was one of those large stuffed teddy bears that stood about 4 feet tall. She didn’t know how Nick would react to it, but it looked...nice. 

 

She left the vault door open when she finally went to retrieve Nick. It was almost 1 am. The others had gone to bed at ten, but she wanted to be sure they were sound asleep before she snuck Nick inside.

 

He wasn’t moving when she opened the back of the van door. However, as soon as she put her hand on his leg to drag him out of the van, he began to wither about, snarling once more. 

Luciana found it easier to keep the jacket over his head, as she dragged him out of the van and into a rusted grocery cart she obtained from an old liquor store adjacent to the mall. 

She would wheel him inside the mall. He was taller and stronger than her and there would have been no way for her to physically walk him inside. He struggled in the cramped cart for a moment, but didn’t put up much of a real fight, aside from his growls, as Luciana wheeled him in the back door of the mall. 

Her ears were strained, drowning out the sound of Nick’s growls, searching for any foreign noises from the others. 

Thankfully, there was nothing and she made it to the bank with no trouble. After she was in the bank, she simply dumped the cart over in the vault. Nick rolled out like a potato. 

Since he was still tied up, Nick just laid on his side, his eyes darting around the brightly lit vault as his teeth continued to grind atrociously. It hurt Luciana’s ears. She balled up the old jacket and stuffed it in the cart that she pushed out of the vault. 

Then she untied the rope from Nick’s legs and shackled his left ankle to the embedded chain in the vault. After he was secure, she took the rope from his hands, freeing them. 

Nick immediately climbed to his feet, ready to lash out and attack Luciana, but she quickly backed away from him toward the safety of the vault gate he couldn’t reach. Even when he stretched his arms out, snarling, and desperate to sink his teeth and nails into her very being. His finger tips were still a good two feet away from the gate. 

Even though Nick was clearly in a vicious mood, Luciana smiled at her accomplishment. She did it. She finally did it! Her hard work over the past day really paid off. She saved her boyfriend! She saved Nick! He would be safe here. She would make sure of that. 

“Goodnight, Nick.” Luciana said as she closed the gate. His response was a howl. “I love you.” Luciana added before closing the vault door and locking it. Then she gave the cold metal door a kiss. Sealing her most prized love inside.


	6. Curiosity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luciana’s paranoia about Nick leads to an ominous dream.

The paranoia that someone would find Nick was severe. What if the chain broke? What if the gate caved in? What if the vault door weakened? What if he somehow got out while she was sleeping and wandered into the mall? What if the others found him? What would they think? Would they think she was crazy? Was she crazy? Or what if something even worse happened? What if Nick got out of the mall and she never saw him again? Luciana didn’t get very much sleep. 

She staid up, her heart pounding in her chest as she stared at the computer monitor from the manager’s office. There wasn’t any sound on the cameras. Just the color video. It made it all the more nerve wrecking. She couldn’t hear him. So she had to keep a watch on him just incase something happened. 

Nick didn’t like the bear. He attacked it after he tripped over it. Clawing at it. He scratched it for several minutes before he was satisfied that it wasn’t going to fight back. Then he crawled around on the carpeted ground before making it back to his feet where he just stared into space, roaming back and forth. Tripping over the bear now and again and giving it another beating, before climbing back to his feet to roam. Each wall he bumped into earned a clawing before he resumed his aimless roam. 

He developed a pattern after a few hours. Tripping over the bear. Clawing at its fur. Crawling around the floor. Making it back to his feet. Roaming to the far left wall of the vault. Banging into the metal safety boxes on that wall and clawing at them before turning and walking into the right wall. Repeating the process of attacking the metal safes before finally stumbling into the back wall and tripping over the bear once more. 

After nearly three hours of the same routine, Luciana’s eyes were burning from lack of sleep. She fell asleep watching Nick relaying his latest assault on his stuffed room mate. 

She heard Nick’s voice in the blackness of her mind as she drifted off to sleep. He was whispering her name. The familiar deep voice sent shivers down her spine. She smiled, forgetting reality. She opened her eyes when she felt his arm around her. The bank was gone. She was in a bed. A real bed. Ivory satin sheets and a thick duvet keeping her warm. Nick rolled over on top of her. His brown eyes looking down into hers. “Good morning, beautiful.” He smiled. 

Luciana smiled beneath him, in her vivid dream, with a stretch. “Good morning.” She whispered back. His lips were soft when they kissed. He looked toward the left. “Did you hear that?” He whispered with the smile still on his face. The weight of his body on top of hers was comforting. Luciana looked to the left and saw a closed bedroom door. She could hear giggles beyond the door. “What’s that?” She asked. Nick sat back in the bed, “I don’t know...it sounds like little- MONSTERS!” He said before the door burst open and three little kids ran into the room squealing with laughter. 

Two boys and a girl. The boys, spitting images of Nick, were dressed in matching blue dinosaur pajamas. They had Luciana’s almond shaped eyes. The girl was wearing pink unicorn pajamas. She had Nick’s eyes but Luciana’s long dark hair. She looked about three years old. The older boy looked about five and the youngest boy couldn’t have been older than two. 

“Mommy! Mommy! You’re awake!” The girl said as her and her brothers climbed up on the bed. Nick helped them up and the youngest boy instantly plopped himself in Nick’s lap, looking up at him with a smile. “Dada!” The boy said gleefully. The girl launched herself into Luciana’s arms as she sat up and gave her a hug, wrapping her arms around Luciana’s neck. “Mommy! Daddy said we can go to the beach today and build sandcastles!” The oldest boy said, squeezing on the other side of Luciana. “Can we?! Can we?!” The girl cried. “Pretty please?!” The boy added. Luciana looked at Nick who was kissing the youngest boy on the top of his head, earning delightful squeals. “Can we go, Mommy?” Nick asked, looking into Luciana’s eyes. 

Luciana smiled. “Yeah, ofcourse love. That sounds great.” She admitted. Nick told the kids to go get dressed and after they fled the room, squealing, he held his hand out to help her out of bed. She took it and he whispered, “Careful.” as she stood up. He was looking down at her stomach. 

Luciana glanced down and noticed that she was heavily pregnant. At least seven or eight months along. Nick put his hand on Luciana’s stomach, sliding it up under her loose floral shirt to rest against her bare flesh. His hand was warm and it radiated a greater warmth against her body. He was smiling as he looked up at her. “He’s kicking.” Nick said. He? A boy? She was having a boy?! Nick’s face lit up. “I have an idea.” He said with a sly smile. “What?” Luciana giggled. 

Nick leaned close to her ear, his breath hot as his lips touched her ear with his whisper, sending shivers up her spine. “Don’t let them find us.” He whispered, placing a kiss on her ear.

The sound of knocking woke up her, tearing her out of her pleasant dream about Nick. 

Luciana sat straight up on the mattress from the floor of the manager’s office in the bank. Her heart was pounding as she heard the knocking again. Followed by a voice. “Luciana? Are you in there?” Alicia’s was saying quietly. Luciana threw the blanket back off of her, and looked at the computer monitor. Nick had deviated from his pattern. He was standing in place, his head cocked strangely to the side as his cloudy eyes stared blankly at the vault gate. It stung Luciana’s heart to see him that like.

She quickly turned off the computer monitor, before she stood up and made her way to the manager’s door. She unlocked it to find a startled Alicia, who was holding a gun down by her leg. 

“What’s going on?” Luciana asked. “I...I thought I heard something in here.” Alicia confessed. “I didn’t hear anything!” Luciana said quickly. Alicia was looking toward the vault now. Dream Nick’s words echoed in her mind. “Don’t let them find us.” 

She had to distract Alicia. Luciana stepped in front of Alicia, blocking her view of the vault door. “I umm...I’m sorry for the way I acted yesterday. I was just...It was a stressful day...” She sighed, putting a hand to her head, as if she had a headache. The distraction worked. Alicia put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “It’s ok. I understand. It was a stressful day for everyone...losing Nick like that.” Alicia looked down at the ground.

Hearing the words again made it that much more real. Nick was dead. Murdered. Taken away from her. Taken away from their unborn baby. Tears of anger stung Luciana’s eyes. “That...that little - BITCH!” Luciana finally growled, thinking about Charlie. The young girl who murdered Nick in cold blood. Lucianan’s anger, startled Alicia who jumped.

“I just - I can’t believe it! After all we did for her! After all Nick did for her! That ungrateful little bitch! I’ll kill her! I’ll find her and I’ll fucking kill her! I’ll-“ “-PLEASE!” Alicia cried, interrupting Luciana’s rant. “- This isn’t helping! You getting upset isn’t good for the baby! It’s not going to bring Nick back!” Alicia said. “That BITCH killed your brother!” Luciana growled. 

A tear suddenly dropped down Alicia’s face and she quickly blinked away the other forming in the corner of her eye. “I-I know..but...but...” Alicia couldn’t even think of what to say. “- She KILLED the father of my child!” Luciana reminder her. Alicia looked away in silence, not knowing how to comfort Luciana any further. “She needs to die.” Luciana added coldly before she turned and walked out of the bank, leaving Alicia no choice but to silently trail behind her.


	7. Responsibility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone questions Luciana about what she’s hiding in the vault.

Nick needed to eat. He was getting weak. It had been three days since his last human meal of the Asian man, back at the shed. Luciana tried feeding her boyfriend raw hamburger meat, but he just wasn’t interested. He was mainly interested in her. His mouth watered heavily with salvia as he kept trying to sink his teeth into the side of her neck as she bent down to slide the plate of raw meat toward him. “No, Nick! Stop that! Eat this! It’s good food!” Luciana scolded firmly as she pointed toward the plate. He tried to bite her outstretched finger as she pointed. Luciana backed up a little. 

She closed her eyes with a heavy sigh as she tried to think. Nick’s snarls were making it difficult but she knew she had to come up with fresh meat for him.  
She couldn’t feed Nick human flesh. It wasn’t right. Even if she managed to find another human out there, she could never throw them into the vault for Nick to devour. That would be murder. It had to be an animal. She hadn’t seen any stray dogs or cats in weeks. There was some type of raccoon in the parking garage. She heard it scurrying around the other night but she couldn’t find it. She heard a bird singing this morning but there was no way she would be able to catch a bird for Nick to eat. 

There were plenty of rats in the basement of the mall, but Nick tore through the ones she could catch in seconds. At this rate, he would eat them all in less than a week. Sometimes Luciana felt as if she were a zoo keeper. Feeding helpless mice to the lion caged up in the den. 

There were dusty old rat traps in the basement that must have been there for months. She just pried the caught rats out and re set the traps to catch fresh ones every morning. Then she would gather all of the rats she captured during the night and put them in a box, to bring to Nick. 

She got caught once, bringing a rat box upstairs. Morgan, one of the newest members of their group, was walking by the basement door when she came up with the box. “What do you have there?” He asked, leaning on his signature walking stick. Luciana’s face turned pale. She couldn’t think of an excuse. The squeaking of the mice in the box was loud, and their running back and forth made the box shake in her hands. Morgan made a disgusted face. “Rats?” He spit. Luciana looked down at the box silently. They weren’t JUST rats...they were Nick’s meal for the day. 

“You’ve been the one setting those traps?” He asked. Luciana had to think fast, before Morgan suspected something was going on. “I umm - I just don’t like them! They’ll steal our food if we’re not careful! I’m dumping them outside!” She lied. Morgan believed her excuse and left it alone. After she made it to the vault and dumped the rats on to the floor in front of Nick like she usually did, she knew it wasn’t enough. Even as he was preoccupied with throwing himself around on the ground, pouncing on the rats like a cat, she knew it wasn’t enough. He needed a real meal. Not these snacks.

She had to slow down on his feedings. Put him on a diet. Three mice a day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. She was going to use the hamburger meat as a filler, but clearly Nick wasn’t interested in that idea. 

Luciana finally opened her eyes and looked at Nick who was staring at her in fury for attempting to feed him raw hamburger meat. He growled when they made eye contact. “You’re being really spoiled do you know that?!” Luciana snapped. He hissed at her. “You know I caught you a really fat rat this morning! Bigger than my hand! I was going to give it to you, but now I’ll make you wait!” Luciana scolded. 

He growled deep within his throat, his teeth clenched together with a murderous look on his face. A bell rung in the front of the bank. Luciana had tied a string bell to the bank door to warn her if someone was coming. She quickly closed the gate and had just finished closing the vault door when someone cleared their throat behind her. Luciana turned around blushing, like a small child who had just been caught stealing a cookie before dinner.

It was that nosy bitch Althea, with her video camera aimed at her. Luciana shielded her face, not wanting to be recorded. “What are you doing?!” Luciana hissed. “I was recording the mall. This place is unbelievable, I want to capture every room.” She said. “Well go record somewhere else!” Luciana snapped. “I’ve already recorded the other stores. This is the last one. I’ve been trying to wait until you left, but it seems you’re always in here.” Althea said. 

“I like my privacy!” Luciana defended herself. “What were you doing in the vault?” Althea asked. The question caught Luciana off guard. Her eyes widened. Think! Think! Unfortunately her mind went blank. “Um - nothing! Why don’t you just - um- mind your business and leave me alone! I don’t want to be filmed!” She spit. She started to walk away from the vault, hoping Althea would follow after her, but to her dismay, Althea stood there recording the vault door. 

Then to Luciana’s horror, Althea reached out and touched the vault door handle. “-NOO!” Luciana screamed, startling Althea so bad, that the woman jumped, dropping her video camera on to the ground. The tape she was recording with came flying out and landed across the room. “What the HELL?!” Althea cried in anger, shooting Luciana a filthy look as she bent over to retrieve her video camera off the ground. Luciana growled in fury as she went over and snatched up Althea’s video tape. Althea reached her hand out for the tape. “Give that back to me!” She demanded. “Stay AWAY from the vault!” Luciana growled, holding the tape tighter. 

Althea glanced down at the tape in Luciana’s hand and then at the vault door. “You stay away from there!” Luciana growled, running forward and standing in front of the vault door. “What the hell is in there?! Why is it so important to you?!” Althea demanded. Desperate to change the subject, Luciana raised Althea’s tape into the air. “I’ll destroy it!” She warned, “If you don’t stay away from the vault I’ll destroy it!” She added. 

“WHAT is IN there?!” Althea demanded again, not even seeming to care about the tape any longer. “It’s - it’s none of your damn business! That’s what it is!” Luciana cursed. 

Protect Nick.

I have to Protect Nick.

I can’t let anyone find him...

Althea held her hand out slowly, “Fine....I won’t go near your vault....just give me my tape back.” She said. Luciana didn’t believe her. “No! I think I’ll just hang on to this for now!” Luciana said. Althea growled, “FINE! Then I think I’ll just call the others and tell them you’re hiding something in the vault!” 

Luciana panicked at hearing this. She dropped the tape on to the ground and grabbed a pair of scissors from off a nearby desk. “Do it and I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you right here!” Luciana snapped holding the scissors out like a knife. “I’ll do it! I’ll slit your fucking throat!” She warned. 

The look of horror on Althea’s face was prominent. She put her hands into the air and slowly backed away from Luciana. “I- I don’t know what’s gotten in to you...” Althea stammered. Luciana realized she was acting crazy. Althea was already highly suspicious of what was in the vault and now after Luciana’s erratic display she would be sure to tell the others what was going on. 

With a heavy sigh, Luciana slowly lowered the scissors and dropped them on to the ground, her head lowering in shame. Then she collapsed down on to the ground, with her back against the vault door. Althea stood there silently for a minute, before she slowly bent down in front of Luciana, putting a hand softly on her shoulder. “I..I know what you’re trying to do. It’s not going to work out.” Althea said softly. “You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Luciana’s voice cracked. She could feel the lump forming in her throat. Trying to keep Nick a secret was exhausting. 

“I saw you..the first night we got here. I saw you go into the toy store by the fountain and get that teddy bear, Luciana. I saw you dragging it into the bank.” Althea admitted. Luciana’s breath caught in her throat. The blood in her veins suddenly felt ice cold. Her heart started pounding against her chest. She knew?! 

Althea gave her a sympathetic look. “I told Alicia about it.” She admitted. “...She knows?” Luciana choked. “We both do.” Althea admitted. Luciana was overcome with emotion. They both knew about Nick? If they knew why hadn’t they said anything? Why was Althea acting so ignorant about it earlier?! Did she just want to see him for herself? To confirm what she already knew?!

“It can’t stay in there, Luciana. It’s too dangerous.” Althea said. It? How dare she call Nick an IT! He was still her boyfriend! “He’s NOT dangerous! He’s FINE! I’m going to take care of him! I’m going to find food and feed him and -“ 

“He? How do you know it’s a boy?” Althea asked confused. Luciana’s face fell. Huh? Now she was just as confused as Althea. “What?” Luciana asked. “He. You said he. How do you know you’re having a boy?” Althea replied. Luciana’s head began to ache from thinking too hard. “I- what? I don’t know! I mean - how did you know I was pregnant?!” Luciana demanded. 

“Alicia told me. After I asked her why you would bring a teddy bear in the bank. We assumed you were trying to make a nursery for the baby. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. You can’t make the vault into a nursery! There’s no adequate air flow in there! The baby would suffocate. It’s too dangerous. Plus...I hate to say it..but do you really think we’re still going to be in this mall after you deliver the baby? We only have enough food in the court to last a few weeks, maybe three or four months if we ration. We’re eventually going to have to move on.” Althea said. 

 

Her words were still floating around in Luciana’s head but she wasn’t really paying attention anymore. They didn’t know about Nick. They were talking about the baby. They thought she was building a nursery in the vault, not hiding her dead boyfriend’s reanimated body. Luciana knew she should probably be furious at Alicia for telling this stranger about her pregnancy, but she couldn’t even think straight anymore. She was just relieved that they didn’t know about Nick. 

Althea patted Luciana on the shoulder gently in her silence and quietly retrieved her own video tape from the floor. “I’ll be here when you’re ready to talk.” Althea said softly before turning and leaving the bank. 

After she left, Luciana’s heart took almost thirty minutes to go back to beating regular. She checked the video monitors in the office and saw Nick was actively destroying the teddy bear. There was stuffing everywhere. It looked like snow. Luciana sighed. How was she going to clean that up without Nick doing the same thing he just did to that bear, to her? 

Luciana was overwhelmed. The fat rat she caught earlier was squeaking away in the box under the manager’s desk. Maybe while he was eating she could scoop up some of the cotton. Although, she had to admit that cleaning up Nick’s mess was the least of her worries. 

She was dwelling on what Althea had said earlier. They were eventually going to have to move on. They couldn’t stay in the mall forever. What about Nick? She couldn’t leave him here alone. What if someone came behind them and just put a bullet in his head when they found him in the vault? At the same time, there was no way she would be able to transport him along with the others to their next location. Then the next and the next and the next. Not until he was better anyway. She had to find that cure. 

Time was running out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the positive comments! It motivates me to write new chapters!


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